Author: editor

John Thomas, Evangelising the Nation: Religion and the
Formation of Naga Political Identity. New Delhi:
Routledge, 2016

Book Review

Reviewed by Sangay Tamang

Within the domain of controversial debate concerning missionary and Naga Nationalism in India, this book presents a new perspective to look historically the relationship between missionary, colonialism and ethnic identity formation among the Nagas of North East India. Tracking history dated back to 17th century Europe, the author attempted to bring a picture of missionary emergence and the role it played in transforming the culture and tradition of Native American.Through extensive archival research and using the missionary metaphor of “city set on the hill”,Thomas tried to locate the birth of American Baptist missionary in the Hills of Nagatoo and the way it mediate the notion of “’civilisation” and “modernity” in North East India. The discussion on conversion towards Christianity among the Nagas has been well presented in this book by articulating the contradiction, confrontation and negotiation of politics between missionary, colonial administration and local institutions. The question likes “what do we want of this man’s new religion?” by an Ao elder (p. 50) present a problematic discourse of missionary’s inconsistency, conflict and its suspicious character within the heterogeneous configuration of Naga society.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12780426

Mahmood Mamdani, Define and Rule: Native as Political Identity. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2012

Book Review

Reviewed by Prashant Narang

In present day India, where we debate rights and access to resources and opportunities through a vocabulary of social justice and also sometimes through citizenship and son-of-soil claims; in “Define and Rule,” Mamdani interrogates the construction of the concept of “native”. He argues that the concept of “nativism” is a political construction of colonial intellectuals during crisis in mid-nineteenth century. Mamdani distinguishes between direct and indirect rule. Initially, the colonial supremacy was direct but post-mutiny in Colonial India, British institutionalized politics of difference which Mamdani calls as “Define and Rule”. This was more indirect by way of managing differences and monopolizing the power to define identities. Mamdani attributes construction of “the native” to the colonial intellectuals at the time of crisis. He identifies Sir Henry Maine as the key intellectual who guides the colonial administrators post-1857 crisis of the British Empire in India. Similar project was undertaken by Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje in Dutch East Indies. These colonial historiographers demarcated and carved out the native identity differentiating it from the settler and amongst native based on tribes.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12780275

Comparative Evaluation of Nutritive Value of Some
Fruits Available in North-East India

Note

By Saikat Sen, Timai Passah, Kitboklang Thubru and Raja Chakraborty

North East India is endowed with affluent genetic diversity of plant sources. The present work is undertaken to investigate the nutritive value of some common and less common fruits available in North-East India. Nutrition value of five fruits namely Malus domestica (apple), Pyrus communis (pear), Emblica officinalis (Indian goose berry), Docynia indica (crab apple), Rhus semialata (Chinese gall) were evaluated. Results showed that Chinese gall has highest nutrition value (446 cal/100g) followed by Indian goose berry, pear, crab apple and apple. Chinese gall and crab apple usually uncommon and only confined to the remote and rural areas of North East region of India. The study concluded that the fruits like Chinese galls, crab apple are the very rich source of nutrition and these fruits can be the alternative of costly fruits like apple, pear available in market to meet the nutritional demand of individual in lower socioeconomic region. Cultivation of such fruits also could beneficial for economic growth of individual and region.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12780196

Land and Law in Manipur circa 1891-1947

Article

By Lalsanglen Haokip

This paper focuses on the problem of land possession and ownership in Manipur following the Palace Revolt of 1891 when the British introduced a Residency form of indirect rule. The paper will critically examine the changing rights on land from pre-British period to post 1947 period through the prism of land regulation. The prevalence of land pattas in the Manipur valley vested individual ryots with landed interests somewhat analogous to that of the ryotwari system. In contrast, the Raj recognised another type of land right for hill chiefs who collected house tax on behalf of the whole village; and as such, this practice reflects elements of the zamindari system. In the pre-colonial era, certain chiefs of Manipur hills were familiar with the idea of tauzi land tenure which indicated settlement of a village, partly mirrored in the later colonial collection of village house tax. The hill chiefs soon internalised the language of rights under the Raj; and even today they refer to dai (right) with reference to their chiefly domains. The coming of Anglo-Indian law of patta into the entire valley of Manipur and gradually in parts of the hill areas heralded the origins of private property in land. The British interpreted patta as ‘the right of occupancy to a land by a tenant, provided it pays revenue punctually’. Further, the paper will see demarcation of boundary not as a definition of territory, but rather as a way of generating revenue. Therefore, this paper will connect colonial boundary making, origins of landed property, and the dual system of land tenure in the valley and hills of Manipur.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12780188

The Role of Oral Tradition with Special Reference to the Thadou-Kuki Society

Article

By D. Mary Kim Haokip

Thadou-Kuki society is well known for its oral tradition that expresses valuable messages. The Thadous have a rich collection of folk literature in different genres that include folk narratives, songs, proverbs, riddles, tales, nursery rhymes, lullabies, war songs, sacrificial chants, etc. All forms of oral tradition in Thadou society contains various informational values on religion, history, customs and public practices, and information that has the values of local wisdom in the daily life of the community, as well as genealogical information or descendant of a family in the community. All of the information are received, developed, and derived and transmitted to the future generations through a wide variety of oral tradition. However, with the advent of education, modern entertainment, changing lifestyle and advanced technology, oral tradition has begun to be gradually abandoned and forgotten by the Thadou society. This has adversely affected the existence and transmission of the rich and valuable oral tradition of the Thadous. The aim of the present paper is to discuss the gradual decline in the role and status of oral tradition in Thadou society and the need for maintaining and preserving before it is lost forever. The paper argues for collective responsibility of every member to preserve and store this rich oral tradition. Additionally, documentation and information centres, such as libraries, archives institution, and museum can help to identify, collect, document the oral tradition and preserve the information contained in the oral tradition.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12780178

The Enchanted Community: Kaose and Doi (Witchcraft) Among the Kukis of Northeast India

Article

By Jangkhomang Guite

This paper examines the social history of kaose and doi among the Kukis of Northeast India. It begins with a discussion on two recent incidences of kaotom to show how the old belief continued to haunt Kuki society of the present. Then it went on defining kaose and doi, of their mythological origin, their characteristics, and the societal responses. In the final analysis, it discusses whether they exist in reality. From few historical evidences that we could gather here, this paper argues that the kaose and doi are largely the products of social and neighborhood tensions and community conflicts that engulfed the Kuki-Chin world during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In other words, the gaining popularity of kaose and doi during this time was largely centre on the conflicting political and social relationship between different social classes in the village community on the one hand and between different villages/clans/tribes on the other where the powerful utilised them as a tool to dominate, defame, and criminalise the weak. They are merely a civilisational tool in the hands of the powerful who felt they are cultured and civilised against the weak whom they condemned as ‘uncultured’ and ‘uncultivated’. The broad argument is that kose and doi is a mere social construct and does not exist in reality.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12780165

India-Bangladesh Connectivity: Implications for India’s North East Development

Article

By Rajendra Prasad Patel

Connectivity is cornerstone to move forward greater bilateral cooperation and enhance trade, investment, people to people contracts and economic opportunities for India and Bangladesh. Both countries have all ingredient of transport connectivity as historical, cultural and political administrative familiarity and geographical proximity and both have been growing at 6 percent annually over the last two decades. But despite having these ingredients, India and Bangladesh are facing serious connectivity challenges both physical and non-physical that have limited the pace of economic growth and development and poor transportation infrastructure and connectivity impediments have limited the North Eastern Region of India and Bangladesh’s opportunities to find markets for their products within and outside the region. This article discusses the rationale for connectivity between India and Bangladesh.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12780149

Oral Narratives of the Kuki-Chin People: The Saga of Legendary Galngam

Article

By Sheikhohao Kipgen

The ‘Kuki-Chin’ people have common historical memories, languages, belief, cultural practices and values. The commonalities shared by this kindred group are also reflected in their common folktales which give an impression of collectiveness of the culture and tradition. Due to geographical location and their dispersed settlement, slight variations in the version of the folktales have developed among the different groups with the passage of time. However, it shares the same meaning and context for all the groups living in different parts of the region and even across national and international boundaries. The common folktales are living testimony of their common ancestry, identity and culture that they belong to the same racial stock. In the midst of various folktales abound with their history, the story of the legendary Galngam is being focussed herein. Attempt is made in this paper that the true identity and image of a particular ethnic group can be achieved and asserted through their life and lore which is based purely on verbal literature or oral discourse.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12747869

Birth Ritual among Meitei/Meetei Sanamahi Community of Manipur: Meaning, Practices and Significance

Article

By Chingshubam Merathaba Meetei

This paper describes and gives the meaning, customary practices, contexts and significance of birth ritual among Meitei/Meetei community of Manipur under Sanamahism. Meitei/Meitei community is the predominant ethnic group of Manipur, one of the seven north eastern states of India bordering Myanmar, and Sanamahism is the traditional religious faith of this community. Like the followers of every world religion the followers of Sanamahism among the Meitei/Meetei community have been observing certain life cycle rituals since time immemorial. The present study describes and interprets the underlying facts and significances of customary beliefs and practices on birth of a child of the community through the perspective of Sanamahism. Doing review of relevant literatures and using the methodology of qualitative field research through interviews and discussion with, as well as through overt participant observation, the paper proposes that birth ritual of Meetei/Meitei community under Sanamahism is one of the important aspects of the socio-cultural life of the community; it has social, cultural and scientific significances, and it also plays a significant role in identifying the ethnographic description of Meitei/ Meetei community of Manipur on religious line. This proposition is explained throughout the paper first by describing all the relevant concepts of birth ritual, followed by analysis of all the aspects of rites and their meanings. The paper contributes to a broader understanding of, and discourse on, the theme and the fundamental basis of birth ritual of this small Meetei/Meitei community of India.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12747844

Analysis of Jhumias Rehabilitation Programmes in Tripura

Article

By Vanlalrema Kuki

Rehabilitation of the jhumias of Tripura became a priority for the state administration to achieve inclusive growth and development. The attempts started during Maharaja Bir Bikram reign by keeping aside a land reservation for jhumias settlement in different parts of the state. The successive state governments also follow the rehabilitation process through various programmes. The significant programmes included agricultural farming, colony scheme, animal husbandry, sericulture, pisciculture and most importantly, horticultural crops, tea and rubber plantations. The first formal attempt began in the 1950s in the southern part of Tripura. The government’s efforts initially appeared a failure because of the massive desertion of the programmes. However, the introduction of permanent-based cultivation of the horticultural and plantation crops as part of the schemes proved successful. Specifically, Block Plantation Scheme became a game changer in the gamut of the jhumias settlement programme, promoting the state as the second largest rubber producer in the country. At the same time, the positive impacts could be seen in the life and livelihood of the beneficiaries. It empowered the beneficiaries socially and economically due to the higher economic returns from plantation cultivation than shifting cultivation. Henceforth, jhumias could forgo their traditional migratory nature of wandering and leading a settled life.   

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12747825

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